CAMEROON let an 18 month contract to study proposed development of its gas resources to Gaz de France unit Sofregaz and Beicip, both of France, The study, the first phase of Cameroon's national gas development plan, will cover potential and available gas and LPG reserves, projection of their potential demand, evaluation of various options for development, estimation of investment costs and infrastructure needs, and training.
EXPLORATION
MOBIL NORTH SEA LTD. took a farmout from BP Exploration involving 50% of four licenses in the Rockall Trough area of the deep Atlantic Ocean west of Scotland. The licenses cover Blocks 132/10 and 15, 133/6 and 11, 142/28 and 29, 164/25, 28 and 29, 165/16, 17 and 21.
ONGC (VIDESH) LTD., India, spudded its 1 A-1 well in Offshore Viet Nam Block 6, off Vung Tau harbor, the first under its Vietnamese production sharing contract. ONGC will drill one more well in the contract's first phase, with both wells scheduled to be drilled within 3 years.
OCCIDENTAL BERAU OF INDONESIA INC. 1 Roabiba wildcat in Berau Bay, Irian Jaya, flowed 23.6 MMcfd of gas through a 5/8 in. choke. Interests in the well, about 1,800 miles east of Jakarta, are operator Oxy Berau 40% and Nippon Oil Exploration (Berau) Ltd. and Sun Oil Berau Indonesia Ltd. 30% each.
COMPANIES
IMPERIAL OIL LTD., Toronto, set a target of more than 2,000 jobs in a staff reduction program offered to 15,250 employees. The program includes offers to 4,700 employees of Esso Resources Canada Ltd., Calgary, Imperial's upstream unit. Imperial Chairman Arden Haynes said the program could cost as much as $200 million (Canadian) but this would be offset by annual payroll savings of about $150 million (OGJ, Aug. 8, p. 44).
CANADA'S federal competition agency approved the $115 million (Canadian) sale of Texaco Canada Inc. assets in Atlantic Canada to Ultramar Canada Inc., Montreal. The agency also approved sale of Texaco assets in Newfoundland, including a 20,000 b/d refinery in Dartmouth, N.S., terminals in several locations, and 224 service stations, to Island Petroleum Inc., St. John's, Newf.
COSEKA RESOURCES LTD., Calgary, presented its debt rescheduling proposal, requiring lenders to write off $63 million (Canadian) in debts, to the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench. North Canadian Oils Ltd., Calgary, which owns 46% of Coseka, plans to forgive $31 million in debts. Unsecured creditors are offered 40 cents on the dollar and shareholders 16 cents/share. If approved, it will be subject to a fairness hearing by the court and a shareholder vote.
WESTERN GAS MARKETING LTD., Calgary, extended by 2 months to Jan. 4, 1991, a deadline for renewal or termination of some contracts with Alberta natural gas producers. The change applies to contracts ending November 1994, under which producers have an option to terminate after notice. Western Gas said producers can now wait until November 1991 to give notice but termination dates will be extended 1 year to November 1995 for those who do so.
BP CANADA INC., Calgary, completed sale of oil and gas assets in western Canada to an undisclosed buyer for $84 million. The assets represent about 50% of BP's properties but only 15% of oil reserves and 12% of gas reserves. The sale is subject to regulatory approval and is to close by Dec. 31.
TOTAL OIL MARINE PLC let two contracts worth about $1.9 million to John Brown engineering division of Trafalgar House plc for design work on pipelines and production and processing facilities for Caister development in southern U.K. North Sea. Included are a four leg steel jacket with integrated deck to be installed over a nine slot predrilled template in 110 ft of water in Block 44/23a and a liquid separation and gas treating terminal to be located onshore at Killingholme, U.K.
NORSK HYDRO let a contract worth about $127 million to Aker Verdal AS for detailed engineering, material procurement, and construction of a steel jacket for a platform to be installed in Brage field. Delivery of the 26,000 metric ton, 156 m tall jacket is expected in spring 1993.
DRILLING-PRODUCTION
GNR INTERNATIONAL (ARGENTINA) INC. acquired a 25% working interest in the 65,000 acre El Chivil concession area of Formosa Province, Northwest Argentina, from Argentine National Oil Co. for $500,900. GNR acquired rights to produce oil and gas from the concession for 25 years with an option for another 10 years.
GOLDSTREAM MINING NL, Perth, acquired Lasmo Oil Co.'s 29% interests in the Bodalla South, Kenmore, and Black Stump oil fields in Queensland's Eromanga basin for $7.5 million (Australian). The purchase gives Goldstream total net oil production of about 900 b/d.
GAS PROCESSING
PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT OMAN let a $74 million contract to Comprimo BV of Holland and Niigata Engineering Co. of Japan to expand capacity of its Yibal gas plant in Central Oman to 580 MMcfd from 300 MMcfd.
PETROCHEMICALS
DOW CHEMICAL CANADA INC., Sarnia, Ont., received Alberta regulatory approval for an $800 million expansion of a petrochemical complex at Fort Saskatchewan. The project includes a gas liquids fractionation facility and an ethylene plant. Construction has begun with completion scheduled for third quarter 1994.
SAUDI BASIC INDUSTRIES CORP. (Sabic) plans to build a grassroots polypropylene plant at Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia, using Union Carbide Chemicals & Plastics Co. Inc. technology. When complete in early 1993, the single train, two reactor plant will have design capacity of 200,000 metric tons/year. It will be owned and operated by Saudi European Petrochemical Co., a joint venture 70% owned by Sabic.
CHINESE PETROLEUM CORP., Taiwan, let contract to Foster Wheeler Conception Etudes Entretien, Paris, for engineering and partial procurement of an olefin conversion unit to be built at CPC's Kaohsiung refinery. The unit, to cost about $41 million, is to go on stream in first half 1993.
ACQUISITIONS
CAIRN ENERGY, Edinburgh, agreed to buy a 22.22% stake in CEP Vietnam, a unit of Cie. Europeene des Petroles SA of France, CEP Vietnam holds a 22.5% stake in two Offshore Viet Nam blocks operated by Enterprise Oil, London. Enterprise started a three well exploration program on Blocks 17 and 21 earlier this month.
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